


One Last Christmas

by sunstarunicorn



Series: Magical Flashpoint Side Stories [34]
Category: Chronicles of Narnia - C. S. Lewis, Flashpoint (TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV)
Genre: Cherish Every Moment, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:22:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28318164
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sunstarunicorn/pseuds/sunstarunicorn
Summary: When Shelley Wordsworth gets a call from an old classmate of hers, the last thing anyone expected was a dying request.  With months to go before Christmas, can the Wordsworths help their neighbors give a little boy a final Christmas to remember?
Relationships: Kevin "Wordy" Wordsworth/Shelley Wordsworth
Series: Magical Flashpoint Side Stories [34]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/576850
Comments: 6
Kudos: 3





	One Last Christmas

**Author's Note:**

> This story is part of the Magical Flashpoint Side Story series. It follows "Bang Bang You're Dead" and comes before "Son of the Fox".
> 
> Although all original characters belong to me, I do not own _Flashpoint_ , _Harry Potter_ , _Narnia_ , or _Merlin_. Nor do I own Matthew West's song 'One Last Christmas'.
> 
> As some may already know, the song 'One Last Christmas' was inspired by the real-life story of a boy named Jax Locke and his struggle with leukemia. Although the original site has long since been taken down, his parents did have a website featuring their son's story and their efforts to raise money for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, where little Jax was treated. There is also a foundation: Cherish Every Moment, which is still active from what I can tell.
> 
> This story is entirely fictional and contains no real-life references outside of what is contained in the song lyrics. May the Lord continue to hold children like Jax in the palm of His hand and comfort them as they face the trials of this life.

Shelley Wordsworth sighed to herself as she inspected her calendar. Three…no, _four_ events for her children, all in the next week, and Kevin’s schedule was just as bad. Unless something dire came up, the children were all hers; Kevin would be too busy with work or trying to get some sleep to drive them _anywhere_.

That didn’t even account for the nightmares Claire had been having ever since the shooting at her school; it had taken nearly three weeks to coax Claire back to school after that fiasco, particularly when their little girl had somehow found out about the school’s demand that Alanna Calvin be removed from the campus less than an hour after she’d stopped the shooters and saved over a dozen lives.

Much as Shelley was proud of her daughter for calling in help and doing her best to keep her friends safe, she couldn’t help but deplore how Claire’s so-called friends had turned on her. Couldn’t help but resent that her daughter had been put in _danger_ , simply by _being_ in the magical world. There had _never_ been any shootings at Claire’s _tech-side_ school after all and surely the wizards should’ve known that alienating their students was a good way to foster tensions that would eventually boil over.

Struggling to set aside the fuming, Shelley turned at the sound of the phone ringing.

_It’s the news that no one hopes for  
Every parent’s greatest fear  
Finding out the child you love so much  
Might not make it through the year_

“Shelley? I don’t know if…”

“Ruth,” Shelley cried with delight. “It’s been ages; how have you been? How are the boys?”

Her smile dropped away at Ruth Tanner’s tiny sniff. That wasn’t like her old classmate at all; Ruth was an incorrigible optimist and always saw the bright side of everything. “We haven’t been all that well for awhile, Shelley,” Ruth admitted.

Moving to her kitchen table, Shelley sat down. “Ruth? What’s wrong?”

Another sniff, right on the edge of a sob. “It’s Jake.”

Shelley’s heart sank. No, no, not that little boy, not that bright, cheery little boy who was just like his mother.

“The doctors…the doctors say he won’t make it to the end of the year.” As soon as Ruth got the words out, she began to sob. It only took a moment for Shelley to decide and she crept from the kitchen to their bedroom to wake Kevin up. It didn’t get more dire than an old family friend whose son was dying.

_Now the thought of spending Christmas  
Without him just feels wrong  
They’ve been praying for a miracle  
Now they’re praying he can just hold on_

Shelley sat close to Ruth, holding her friend’s hands as the other woman choked out the whole miserable story around her sobs. The early warning signs, taking Jake to doctor after doctor and the horror of the diagnosis they’d eventually come to. The funds from friends and family so they could take Jake to St. Jude’s Children’s Research Hospital in the United States and the desperate battle for Jake’s life, which had included two bone marrow transplants. And finally, the doctors’ conclusion that they’d done all they could, but the leukemia was winning. Further treatment would only prolong Jake’s death instead of preserving his life.

When the flow of words slowed to a trickle and a few exhausted sniffs, Shelley leaned forward. “How can we help, Ruth?”

Gratitude shone in her old classmate’s eyes. “Ryan…Ryan wants to give Jake one last Christmas, but he’s had to take on more hours at work and get a second job so we can keep up on the mortgage and the medical expenses. Most nights, it’s hard for him to even be with Jake, much less work on anything around the house.”

Shelley’s grip tightened. “So he’s had to let a few things go around here?”

Ruth hesitated, but nodded.

She didn’t even have to think about it. “I. Am going to go home and get Kevin and our girls,” Shelley promised. “And then _we_ are going to get all your Christmas decorations out and get them set up before Ryan comes home.” She rose, shaking her head when Ruth rose as well. “You are going to stay with Jake; we’ll take care of everything else, Ruth.”

_For one last Christmas, one last time  
One last season when all the world is right  
One more telling of the story  
One more verse of silent night  
They’d give anything so he could have  
One last Christmas_

Wordy’s instinct to complain died as soon as he saw the look in Shelley’s eyes. By the time she was done explaining, he was fully onboard, even if he’d have to find an energy drink to get through his next shift at work. He had Shelley explain to their girls as well, only stepping in right at the very end. Crouching down, he met each girl’s eyes, then asked, “So what do you say? You wanna help Jake and his family have a Christmas to remember?”

“Yeah!” Ally enthused, earning a smile from both parents. Lilly nodded immediately afterwards, but Claire didn’t respond; she looked away.

Gently, Wordy reached out and turned her chin back towards him. “Come on, sweetheart, time to get back in the saddle.”

Her small hand rose, fingers curling around his larger ones. “Will you help us, Daddy?”

“Wouldn’t miss it for the _world_ , kiddo.”

_Middle of September  
Still seventy degrees  
Daddy climbs up in the attic  
Brings down candles  
Hangs the lights on all the trees_

Wordy started with the indoor Christmas decorations, bringing each box down from the Tanners’ attic so his wife and daughters could start setting up the tree and the Lionel Christmas train that looked like Ryan had inherited it from his father. The big man kept his focus on the boxes; it was easier than dealing with the reality of _why_ he was bringing down another family’s Christmas decorations months before the season. Once all the indoor Christmas boxes were down, the brunet headed right back up, pulling out all the outdoor decorations from where they were buried in the corners of the attic.

Christmas wasn’t Christmas without the outdoor decorations, after all, even if they’d get a few odd looks from the neighbors. With a wan smirk at his own logic, Wordy hefted the first box close to the attic ladder so he could get it down the steps. At the bottom, he was surprised to find Claire waiting for him.

“Everything okay, kiddo?”

Claire nodded, her gaze fixed on the box in his hands. “Is that for outside?”

“Sure is,” Wordy confirmed. “You want to help me with setting it up?”

He’d thought she would’ve preferred staying inside, particularly with the heat wave, but maybe Claire needed some time away from her sisters; they were trying, but they didn’t understand what Claire had gone through. He didn’t necessarily understand either, but maybe he understood enough for Claire to prefer his company to her sisters’ or even her mother’s.

At his daughter’s tiny, hesitant nod, Wordy passed the box to her. “Go ahead and take that outside. You can start unpacking, but I want to see what all we’ve got before we set anything up.”

“Yes, Daddy.”

_Then the neighbors started asking  
And pretty soon word got around  
First it was the neighborhood  
Before too long they lit up that whole town_

As he and Claire worked, several neighbors were not content with merely watching the spectacle of someone setting up Christmas decorations in September. Wordy fielded their questions even as Claire kept right on going with their plan, starting with the electrical strip foundation of all the lights and blow-up decorations the Tanners had in their attic. As the decorations began to rise, bit by bit, the roles slowly reversed and Claire ended up answering questions while her father struggled with some of the more stubborn decorations.

By the time they were done, Wordy was surprised to notice one other neighbor was suddenly outside with his own Christmas decorations. Although he was quietly amused and impressed by the swift decision, the brunet shifted his attention to several areas around the house he’d noticed while he was bringing boxes down. Setting up for Christmas was nice, but if he could offer something a bit more practical, then he could call his afternoon worthwhile.

“Claire, you want to go help your Mom and sisters now?”

His daughter shook her head. “I want to help you, Daddy.”

“You sure? Could get messy.”

Claire faltered, then gave a firm nod. “I want to help Jake, Daddy.”

 _Good girl._ She was regaining her spirit and maybe helping a little boy with leukemia was the perfect antidote to the tragedy she’d seen at her school.

_For one last Christmas, one last time  
One last season when all the world is right  
One more telling of the story  
One more verse of silent night  
They’d give anything so he could have  
One last Christmas_

Of course, Shelley couldn’t stop at just _one_ house; she chivvied her family into setting up their own Christmas decorations and called both her parents and her in-laws to wrangle them into the mix. From there, news spread to their neighbors as Shelley continued to coordinate with both Ruth and Ryan to arrange as many outings for little Jake as the young boy could enjoy.

The response was more than Shelley could’ve dreamed of; house after house in the neighborhood set up their Christmas decorations and the generosity spread even farther once Ruth and Ryan put together a small website with their son’s story. Aside from marshalling her own family, Shelley eased back; this wasn’t her fight, it was Ruth and Ryan’s. After all, it was _their_ son who was sick and she shouldn’t steal any of their deserved limelight.

As the days wore on, Shelley arranged her own schedule so that if Ruth ever needed a shoulder to cry on, she would have one readily available. Despite being pushed to his own limits, Kevin shouldered more of the household load, handling both homework patrol and enforcing bedtime curfews. Between the two of them, the Tanners’ home saw some much needed repairs going on in the background while Ruth and Ryan took care of their son.

_Twenty-seventh of October  
His time was wearing thin  
Friends and family, even strangers  
That they didn’t even know  
Brought presents in  
He was weak but he was smiling  
Like there was nothing even wrong  
They said he wouldn’t make it  
Looks like he got to see it after all_

Shelley perched next to Ruth on the Tanners’ couch while little Jake played on the rug in front of them. Even with the outpouring of support, nothing could take away the reality of the situation or the anguish Jake’s parents were going through as they watched their son’s inevitable decline. Even with all the modern medical miracles, there were still things no doctor could cure, try as they might.

“One last Christmas,” Ruth whispered, trying not to cry.

Shelley didn’t reply; she couldn’t take away the pain. All she could offer was her presence and a willing shoulder to cry on.

Wiping at the tears in her eyes, Ruth turned to look her old classmate in the eye. “Cherish every moment,” she ordered. “Every second of every day you get with your girls, cherish it.”

“I will,” Shelley promised. Gazing down at Jake, she asked, “Is there anything else we can do, Ruth?”

“Pray,” Ruth replied. “Keep on praying; he’s holding on, just a little longer till Christmas.”

_One last Christmas, one last time  
One last season when all the world is right  
One more telling of the story  
One more verse of silent night  
They gave everything so he could have  
One last Christmas  
One last Christmas_

Wordy entered his kitchen on New Year’s Eve to find Shelley crying. He swept down next to his wife, cautious of crowding her if she wanted to be alone. To his relief, she immediately reached out, crying on his chest and letting him cradle her. Even once she’d cried herself out, he kept quiet, letting her take her time.

“Ruth called,” Shelley finally said and Wordy cringed, knowing what was coming. “Jake died last night.”

The brunet exhaled hard; they’d all known it was coming, inevitable with the leukemia devastating the little boy’s body, but it was still a hammer blow to hear the news.

“He made it, though,” Shelley whispered.

“Huh?”

Her smile was sad, with all the sorrow of someone who’d gotten to know the bright little boy over the past few months. “He made it to Christmas.”

Wordy considered that and had to smile himself. The little boy that no one had thought would see Christmas…had gotten his Christmas miracle after all.

_~Fin_


End file.
